


Ambassador and Praetor's Friendship

by LapisLazuli13



Series: For My Little Cinnamon Rolls (mostly about Nico di Angelo) [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Ambassador of Pluto, Awesome Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Cute, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I focus on platonic relationship here, Nico & Reyna Friendship, Nico is an adorable little cinnamon roll, Other, Praetor Reyna, Sweet, accepting prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-02-05 03:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12786066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LapisLazuli13/pseuds/LapisLazuli13
Summary: This is a series of drabbles about Nico and Reyna’s relationship, how they secretly care about each other, how they open up to the other and some sweet, full of fluff moments between them as brother and sister – also as Ambassador of Pluto and Praetor of Camp Jupiter.





	1. Their First Meeting

##  **_One: Their first meeting._ **

…

The first time Reyna met Nico, she was suspicious about his existence.

“This kid isn’t a Roman,” those Lares whispered while he was walking past them. _“Graecus.”_

This word was almost as an insult. Reyna chose to ignore the ghosts, but she can’t stop suspecting him. Even at this time Nico was a scrawny kid and he looked so harmless, she still can feel he was hiding his true strength.

“I am the Ambassador of Pluto,” he bowed, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a ghostly smile. “He sends me here to ask you for some favors, Praetor.”

“What favors?” Reyna questioned. The Gods rarely contact their children by themselves or even send someone to tell them some words. This is the first time Camp Jupiter had an Ambassador from a God. And a very powerful one: Pluto, one of the Big Three, and the God of Underworld.

“This girl is a Roman demigod.” He said, and now Reyna noticed a smaller figure behind the ambassador’s back. She was a child, about 11 – 12 years old, with chocolate-toned skin, curly cinnamon hair, and a pair of golden eyes. The Lares didn’t say anything about the girl. Maybe she was a true Roman.

“And?” Reyna’s voice was slightly higher than normal. The ambassador smiled at her.

“I want you to give her a place in your Camp, Praetor. As a request from the ambassador of Pluto, in this case, as Pluto himself.”

…

“We can’t!” Octavian angrily gesticulated. “I don’t trust this scrawny boy! He could be a threat to our Camp!”

“You’re a scrawny boy yourself.” Jason, the other Praetor snorted. Reyna tried to hide her smile.

“And we all know the Romans must be trained by Lupa and her pack,” Octavian ignored him. “We can’t have an exception.”

“Even when it comes directly from the Ambassador of Pluto?” Suddenly a voice answered him, and Octavian almost jumped out of his skin.

“How can you get into here?!” The Apollo’s descendant hissed angrily while he grabbed a plush toy in his hand and struggled it. “You’re not allowed to be here! And we have guards outside the tent. How can you sneak in?”

“I can go anywhere that I want,” the ambassador’s voice was marked with an amusing tone. “My ability allows me.”

“What’s your ability?” Reyna asked. A boy with the capability to travel everywhere wasn’t the one that she wanted to make an enemy.

“I’m afraid that I can’t tell you. Not yet,” he shook his head. “But I will. I promise.”

Aurum and Argentum slightly barked at him, but they weren’t angry. He was telling the truth.

 _‘That means we can meet again,’_ Reyna secretly thought to herself. _‘Good. I want to know more about this kid. It’s a privilege to be Pluto’s ambassador. He must have something special about him.’_

“I’m waiting for it,” She nodded. “Now, about your request…”

“We can’t accept that ridiculous request!” Octavian shouted. A malicious smirk was on his face. “Especially when it comes from some suspicious kid like you!”

“I don’t care about your opinion,” the ambassador didn’t bother to look at the blond. “I only care about your decision, Praetors.” He looked at Reyna and Jason.

At the moment their eyes met each other, Reyna immediately knew she and this boy will be something in the future. Not in a romantic way, she wasn’t interested in younger boys. But she knew for sure they’ll have a very close relationship.

And she wondered why can she feel this way about a stranger.

“… I don’t have a reason why we can’t accept Pluto’s request.” She said after a while.

Octavian widened his eyes in anger. “You can’t! I swear to the Gods, Reyna, being a Praetor doesn’t mean you can have control all over…”

“I agree with Reyna,” Jason interrupted him. “And I don’t care about your rambling. Just shut up.”

The blond looked like he was being stuffed a plush toy into his mouth.

“Good. Thank you so much for your kindness,” the ambassador bowed to them, this time a real smile was dancing on his lips. “Her name is Hazel Levesque, a daughter of Pluto. Please treat her nice.”

“We will,” Reyna confirmed with him. “But she needs to prove her worthiness for this Camp. I won’t allow coward and weakling in my Camp.”

“She will. And she’s a brave girl,” a warm smile was on the black-haired boy face, and he looked like a child at his age for merely some seconds. “Thank you again, Praetors.”

…

Reyna walked with him to the border of Camp Jupiter.

“When will we meet again?” Before the ambassador can leave, she asked.

“I’ll let you be the first one know when it’s the time,” he chuckled. “And about my special ability… I can let you have some hints. Just only you. That’s a little secret between us.”

Reyna agreed with him. And in front of her widened eyes, the boy stepped into the nearest shadow and quickly became one with it. Then he disappeared.

“We’ll meet again soon. Goodbye, Praetor.”

“My name is Reyna. What’s yours?” She tried to ask the last question.

“You can call me Nico, Reyna.”

She can hear his laugh and the sound of her name was mellifluous with his voice.

She liked that tone. Not the monotonous and colorless one that he used to talk with her and Jason inside their Praetors’ room, this tone was filled with a soft and somewhat warm feeling. And he clearly had a great voice.

She never admitted that she secretly counted every day till their meeting next time. She wanted to see that boy again.

 

…


	2. The second time.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second time they meet.

##  **_Two: The Second Time._ **

…

The second time Reyna met the Ambassador of Pluto was a short meeting. Very, very short.

Nico just dropped by on the way to do something for his father. He refused to tell her who was his father, but she thought she can guess.

“It’s Pluto. You’re his ambassador. What else can this mean?” She questioned.

Nico just slightly shook his head at her. “Close enough. But no, my father isn’t the same with Hazel. Not the _same-same_.”

“Your father isn’t Mors – the God of Death, is he?” Her voice was skeptical.

“No. But I have very a close relationship with the death itself.” He replied with a slight tone of amusement in his voice.

Reyna locked her eyes with him. They’re at the border of Camp Jupiter. He said that he just paid a very short visit so that’s unnecessary to pass through the line. She looked into his eyes again. The boy had such unique eyes: under the sunlight, she can tell its original color was chocolate brown, but it’s so dark that it was almost black. And his eyes were deep and sharp. The kind of eyes can make shivers run down someone’s spine with just a cold look. But it’s also filled with sorrows and darkness. She has never ever seen someone with such sad and heartbroken eyes. It looked like he’s gone through too much misery that nothing can describe it, but it left permanent marks on his appearance.

“You look too pale.” After a minute of silence, she commented. His skin tone was a sickly white-green, and she could clearly see the blue veins under the almost semi-transparent skin.

“Yeah, I think I need a little sunshine.” He joked, the corner of his mouth slightly raised, but his eyes remained the sadness.

Reyna suddenly had a wave of strange feelings that she wanted to hug him and tell him to stop faking that he’s fine. This boy was far from fine. He was slowly being broken from inside. And she didn’t know how could he manage to act like nothing happened.

“Do you want to see Hazel?” She questioned. The boy slightly shook his head.

“No, not today. She’ll be very worried if she looks at me now.”

“So you do know that you look really bad.” Reyna raised an eyebrow.

“I had worse,” He faintly smiled at her. “I’m fine.”

 _“No, you’re not.”_ Reyna thought to herself. _“If Aurum and Argentum were here, they’ll jump to the boy and tear him apart with this lie.”_

“So, what’s the reason for you to come here today?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Is it about some missions or requests from Pluto again?”

“My d–… my lord didn’t send me here.” He shook his head. “I… I just want to see you.”

Reyna frowned at the way he hesitated to mention Pluto, but she opted not to ask further.

“See me? Any reason why?”

“I promised that the next time I come, you’ll be the first one I let to know.”

Nico didn’t look straight at her eyes. Reyna knew what he said was just half of the truth.

“You have fulfilled your promise.” She nodded. “But seriously, just this?”

“I… I can’t tell you anymore. It’s not the right time.” Nico looked so miserable while he struggled with his choices of words. “Listen, Reyna. In the future, if anything happens… you have to be strong.”

“I have never been weak before.” Reyna looked at him with confusion was written all over her face.

“I know. You’re a brave and admirable girl, Praetor. But you’re still a human. You can be weak sometimes. Just… don’t let your emotions take control over you.”

“… I can’t see any reason why…” She slightly shook her head. What’s wrong with Nico and all this sudden seriousness?

“Just… promise me, Reyna. Please keep yourself from breaking down. We need you.”

Nico almost begged her. His eyes were so sad and desperate, they made Reyna really wanted to open her arms and give him a tight embrace, to tell him that everything will be alright.

Sadly, she knew that as a demigod, their life could be anything but alright in a long-term.

“I promise.” She nodded. “I won’t break down. I can control myself and my own feelings.”

“Good.” Nico sighed with relief. “I believe in you, Praetor. I know you won’t let me down.”

“I won’t. But I still don’t understand why you suddenly tell me those things.”

“You will. In the future. Soon enough.” Nico gave her a sad smile. She wondered if this boy knew how to make a real smile. Without misery or darkness in his eyes, just joy and happiness.

She doubted that those words even existed in his dictionary.

“I’ll wait.” She told him. Yeah, what can she do except this? Future’s unpredictable. She didn’t trust Octavian or any of his plush toys.

“I need to go now.” Nico looked at the shadow under a tree nearby.

“When will we meet again?” Reyna questioned when the boy stepped into the shadow. “And to be honest, I don’t want to see you in this state ever again. You look terrible.”

“Next time we meet, I promise I’ll look better.” He smiled at her while slowly disappearing into the darkness. “Thank you, Reyna. Your promise means a lot to me.”

“Thanks for warning me.” She tried to smile at him, even though she didn’t know if he could see it or not. “Be safe, Nico.”

That was the end of their second meeting. At this time, it was almost nothing but confusing to Reyna. But she still felt a small warm feeling bubbled up inside her, by the concern from someone who was barely a stranger to her.

She wondered how many times they need to talk to each other before they could actually become allies, or better, friends. She thought it might be long since they were both quite guarded people, but she believed it’s worth for the long run.


	3. A new haircut.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyna told Nico that his hair was too long and she decided to give him a new haircut.

##  _**Three: A new haircut.** _

…

“No, Reyna. I do _not_ want a haircut.” Nico’s lips stretched into a flat line, his voice was lower than usual and he deliberately tried so hard to avoid the praetor’s intense gaze.

“Your hair is too long,” Reyna crossed her arms over her chest, slightly shook her head in disagreement. “C’mon, Nico, it’s just a haircut.”

“ _Just a haircut?_ ” Nico hissed dangerously with annoyance dripped in his voice. “My hair is fine!”

“No hair this long is fine.” Reyna glared at the stubborn kid in front of her. Seriously, she loved this boy so much, but sometimes he really drove her up a wall. Like, right at this moment, she just wanted to strangle him or grab his head and drown him in the water to wash away all of his obstinate thoughts.

“Mine is different!” Nico almost yelled at her. The praetor of New Rome knew that Nico cannot stay mad at her, just like she cannot get angry with him for too long, so she didn’t feel any real threat in his annoyed tone. The ground was shaking slightly, but she also understood that was just a side effect of the younger boy’s tremendous powers whenever his emotions were pulled to some extends.

Aurum and Argentum grumbled next to her legs, and Nico stared at them like challenging them to bark at him. Reyna sighed in exasperation. As much as she loved him, sometimes she still wished her metal dogs could really threaten him like they did with the others. No, those dogs just _adored_ him as he was another owner of them, and she knew they would never hurt him because she never truly wanted the other boy get any pain or wound.

“Stop being an annoying little brat,” She held up a pair of scissors in her hand and her piercing black eyes locked into his chocolate brown ones. “Sit down and let me do my job.”

“I didn’t see cutting my hair in your praetor’s description of work,” Nico retorted and eyed the scissors in her hand skeptically. “I don’t trust your hands.”

“I slew hundreds of monsters by my own hands, Nico.” Reyna hummed quietly and said triumphantly, a wide grin crossed her face.

“Not helpful at all,” He groaned and glared at her. “My hair is not a monster!”

“It’s just monstrous enough to fit the description of those creatures.” She replied venomously. Don’t get her wrong, she still loved this boy, but sometimes she can’t stand his sarcastic smart ass. She needed to show him that she still can bite, just like him.

“Are you calling me ugly?” He shot the older girl an intense glare. Now she really wanted to smack his dense head. Why did he always need to twist other’s words negatively like this? Was it hard to believe when someone told him something nice, or just simply the plain truth? She understood Nico had a lot of problems with his damaged and nearly destroyed self-esteem, but she also desperately wanted him to know how amazing he was.

“Are you stupid? Stop playing dumb with me.” She hissed angrily. “No, and I’ll never say you’re ugly. Quite on the contrary, actually. But that’s not the point!”

“My hair is a part of my charm,” Nico crossed his arms over his chest, his dark bangs fell to his eyes and made his expression unreadable. “It’s nice.”

“That’s not the reason for you to keep it this long.” Reyna rolled her eyes, started to feel impatient with his stubbornness. She swore that even if she needs to drug him to get her job done, she would still do it.

“I can keep my hair the way I want.” He shook his head violently, and Reyna tried so hard to ignore the intense need to grab his hair and simply pluck it out of his skin.

“Not in my watch,” She replied and walked toward him. “And I swear to Gods if you vanish into shadow right in front of my eyes…”

A mischievous smirk curved up Nico’s lips. And he did exactly what she warned him not to do. Shadows moved closer to his lithe body, and they covered him in a dark embrace. Blink once, and the son of Hades was gone.

Reyna groaned exasperatedly and threw her scissors over the room to the dart board. This kid was really a pain in the arse sometimes.

…

“Help! Reyna is chasing after me!” Nico materialized back at his sister’s room. Hazel almost yelled in surprise but she immediately grinned widely when she saw her dear brother.

“Nico! What are you doing here?” She threw herself into his open arms and gave him a suffocate hug.

“I’m running for my life!” Nico hugged Hazel back and buried his head in the crook of her neck. The position and angle were quite awkward since he was taller than her, but the smell of her bouncy curl was very comforting. He missed hugging her so much.

“What? Are you in danger?” She finally let him go and asked, her voice was full of concern and worry.

“No… Well, kind of,” He replied, scratching the back of his head. “Not the I’m-being-chased-after-by-monsters way, but I’m having Reyna wants to cut my hair.”

“Speaking of that…” Hazel took a step back to look at her brother, then slightly shook her head. “You should cut your hair, Nico.”

“Not you too!” He exclaimed, his eyes widened in shock. “You’re not teaming up with her!”

“There is no team here,” Hazel crossed her arms over her chest. “You really need to get yourself a haircut. It’s too long.”

“It’s fine! Why do you all have problems with my long hair? You have long hair too!”

“I’m a girl, Nico,” Hazel raised an eyebrow, her golden eyes glinted with amusement. “Unless that’s a way for you to say that you’re secretly a girl.”

“What? No! Of course I’m a boy!” Nico stared at her in disbelief. Who was this girl? Where was his beloved and kind, caring sister? “Me liking boys doesn’t make me be a girl!”

“I know, boys can like boys too,” Hazel rolled her eyes. “But that has nothing with the fact that your hair is too long.”

“Could we drop this topic?” Nico sighed heavily. “I already told you, I don’t want to cut my hair.”

 _“But I want to,”_ A voice suddenly joined their conversation and it made Nico jump up in surprise. “And Nico, I know you’re inside this room. I’ll come in right at this moment and you’d better not disappear again…”

Before Hazel could speak out loud, Nico shook his head at her and vanished into the shadows at the corner of the room.

Reyna opened the door and stepped in, just to see a confused Hazel standing alone in the room. “Where’s Nico?”

“He just shadow-traveled away,” Hazel shrugged and looked at the scissors in Reyna’s hand, then she let out a small chuckle. “And before you could ask, I don’t know where he’s heading toward. But I’m totally supporting you to get his hair cut. It’s too long and it hides all his delicate features.”

“That’s one of the reasons why I want to cut it,” Reyna hissed, but a fond look appeared on her face. “He’s gorgeous, and he should let other people be aware of that. And I want to make sure Percy knows what he missed out.”

“You’re right.” Hazel grinned at the female praetor. Anyone who thought she was just a strict and stoic person should look at her expression right now. Her blank façade was replaced by a lively face full of emotions, and her eyes weren’t as cold and piercing as usual, but rather warmer and somewhat amused mixing with irritated. Hazel was sure that Nico was one of the very few people that can make Reyna show out that much feelings. Maybe the only one now, because she knew how much Reyna favoured her brother.

…

“Jason! I need your help!”

The blond startled at the sudden yell, but he quickly dropped his guard and released his golden coin when he realized who was talking.

“Nico, what’s wrong?” Jason asked, put down his cup of warm chocolate on the table.

“Reyna wants to cut my hair!” The younger boy shouted and plopped down on a small couch in Jason’s room. The former praetor was visiting Camp Jupiter in a week, that’s why Nico could find him at New Rome.

“Why?” Jason looked at the smaller demigod and chuckled slightly. “Because your hair is too long?”

“It’s long, but it’s fine!” Nico groaned and untied his hair, let the dark curls fall over his face and almost touch his shoulders. “And I don’t want to cut it!”

Jason didn’t reply immediately, instead of that he stood up and walked to Nico’s direction. He lifted one of his hand and smiled. “May I?”

Nico watched the other gestured at his hair, and let out a sigh. “Okay.”

Jason happily ran his fingers through Nico’s feathery black hair, it always felt so good touching and playing with the boy’s hair. It was naturally curly and soft and silky, no matter how many times Nico claimed that he didn’t put on any hair product or even washing it every day. “I like touching your hair.”

“You sure have such weird fetish.” Nico hissed but didn’t slap the blond’s hand away. He leaned into the other’s touches and secretly enjoyed the feeling of Jason’s fingers caressing his hair, massaging the skin of his head. It’s so soothing and relaxing.

“I don’t deny it,” Jason stopped whatever he was doing, and looked straight into Nico’s dark chocolate brown eyes. “You have beautiful eyes, do you know that?”

“This isn’t the first time you told me that, so yeah, I already knew it.” Nico replied, didn’t really understand the sudden compliment.

“Those eyes shouldn’t be hidden under your bangs,” Jason smiled and started to caress Nico’s hair again. “Long hair is okay, but short hair is better.”

After five seconds, realization dawned on Nico. “You just said that you want to cut my hair too?!”

“Not exactly, but yeah, I won’t protest if Reyna wants to give you a haircut.” Jason’s smile just got wider, and Nico glared at him intensely.

“I hate you.”

“Love you too.” Jason chuckled. Sometimes Nico reminded him of a moody cat with his hot-temper and quick-changing behaviours, but a cute cat nonetheless.

“Stop being ridiculous,” Nico groaned and smashed Jason’s hand away. “You’re not allowed to touch my hair ever again!”

“I don’t need permission to do what I want.” Jason didn’t feel any real threat in Nico’s tone, so he didn’t really care about it. His hand quickly found a way to run through the other’s hair again.

“So do I,” Another voice echoed the room, and before Nico could shadow-traveled away, Jason quickly grabbed his arm firmly and shook his head.

“Don’t.” He told the younger demigod just a single word. Right after this moment, Reyna stormed into the room. Jason flashed her a wide grin. “I got him!”

“Good job, Grace.” Reyna nodded at him. “I know that I can count on you.”

Nico looked at her, then looked back at the blond next to him, then turned his head back to the braided girl again. Realization slowly hit him, but it hit really hard. “You betrayed me, Jason!”

“I have done nothing.” The son of Jupiter answered innocently. Nico glared daggers at him.

“Jason, if you don’t release me right now, I swear to Gods you will regret this for the rest of your life…”

“I’m more aware of the fact that Reyna would kill me if I let you go now, so sorry, _kitten._ ” Jason shook his head and smirked at the younger boy.

“What did you just call me?!” Nico hissed angrily at him.

“Kitten, you moody cat.” Jason calmly repeated, he even had the bravery to add two more words.

“Don’t you dare…!”

“Sit down and let me do my job.” Reyna commanded, the scissors moving dangerously in her hand. She was too close for Nico to run away right now, didn’t mention the strong grip on his arm that Jason still refused to release.

Nico sighed in defeat and begrudgingly let Reyna touch his hair. She hummed quietly in satisfaction and slowly cut his hair off. Nico closed his eyes tightly during the progress, and Jason tried so hard to hold back his laugh at the younger demigod’s expression.

“Done!” Reyna smiled and removed the last curl of hair that still covering Nico’s forehead. The smaller demigod slowly opened his eyes and stared at the hair on the floor.

“It took me more than a year to let my hair grow this long,” He mumbled when Jason released his grip. “Now it’s gone.”

“Don’t be such a dramatic human being,” Reyna rolled her eyes. “You look great, don’t doubt that.”

“I looked great because I had those long curls cover my hair before…” Nico pouted and he gave Jason a quick glance as he was silently challenging him to smile if he dares.

Jason didn’t get the message. He was busy being stunned with Nico’s new hair. Reyna didn’t give him a crewcut like Roman’s standard, but rather a wild and free-style undercut. He still can keep some of his curls, but they were all shorter than before and he can no longer hide his face under his own hair. The son of Jupiter knew Nico had such delicate features, but he never really looked straight at his face. And damn, Jason liked what he saw.

Nico had the darkest eyes he has ever seen in his life. Those eyes were big and hypnotizing, they looked like bottomless abysses that can capture anyone’s soul if they look inside it long enough. The dark chocolate brown color was closer to black brought to his eyes a mysterious charm, and Jason really loved it. Now without the long locks fell over all of Nico’s face, he could clearly see the high cheekbones, the defined jawline and bow-shaped lips with the faintest hint of pink shade that looked so kissable.

Jason subconsciously leaned closer to the younger demigod. They’re just some inches apart and he could count those tiny freckles on the healthy olive complexion. Man, Jason really loved what he saw.

Reyna cleared her throat. “He looks really good, right Jason?”

“Yeah?” Jason intelligently replied. Reyna gave him a disapproving look, and he shook his head sheepishly. “Ah, yeah. He looks good. Better than good, really. Stunningly beautiful.”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Nico hissed, avoiding Jason’s gaze. “I know I look ridiculous.”

“No, you’re gorgeous,” Reyna reached out one of her hand and ruffled his new haircut. “Wait until the others see it. I bet they will love your new hair.”

“I seriously doubt it.”

“I have more concerns about your self-esteem than usual, Nico.” Reyna sighed. “What can I do to make you believe that you’re really good-looking?”

“I’m not good-looking.” Nico stubbornly replied. Jason groaned with impatience.

“I agree with Reyna. You’re beautiful, and you need to know that. You possess such elegant facial structures. Don’t hide it under your hair anymore. The others need to see your face without covers.”

“They won’t like it.”

“Then that’s their loss, not yours. And believe me, everyone will love it. You’re really adorable.” Jason grinned and ruffled his new hair after Reyna took her hand back. The feeling was quite different than before, but it was pleasant nonetheless. Jason decided he always likes Nico’s hair, regardless of length or styles.

“I’ll wait to confirm which theory of us is right.” Nico rolled his eyes. “Now can I move?”

“Sure, just help me sweep the floor,” Reyna chuckled. “And then I’ll show your new hair and also my latest artwork to other people.”

“You’re sometimes really unbelievable.” Nico grunted, but still stood up and helped Reyna to clean the mess on the floor of Jason’s room.

“I’ll take this as a compliment.” The female praetor just gave him a cheeky grin. Jason liked this version of her more – Naughtier, smiling more, and definitely more loveable. He was secretly thankful to Nico because he knew the younger demigod was a big part of her change.

“Anyway, I still love you,” Nico sighed and suddenly said, didn’t look at Reyna. The others were frozen at their spots. Jason didn’t dare to breathe out when he saw the stunned look on the girl’s face. “I’ll deny I say it, but thank for the haircut.”

And Reyna _beamed_ brightly at this, and Jason knew everything would be fine. Beyond fine, really. Satisfyingly great.

…


	4. The third time.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third time Reyna met Nico at Camp Jupiter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's quite a long period since the last time I updated this fiction. I'm sorry for making you wait so long.

##  **_Four: The third time._ **

…

The next time Reyna saw Nico, he and Hazel were cleaning the Pluto Temple in New Rome. It was almost like nobody had gone to this place, so the light inside it was broken and dull. Reyna guessed Nico brought the torches into the temple and under the dim light, she could still see it was covered with a thick layer of dust.

Seeing two children of the Underworld doing house chores was a quite interesting sight. Nico was cleaning the wall with a feather duster when Hazel was sweeping the floor by a big broom.

“They’re happy with each other,” Jason commented, he was crossing his arms over his chest and standing beside her, a small grin curved up his lips. “It’s nice to see something like this. Hazel is easy-going and friendly, but she usually looks sad. On the other hand, the Ambassador of Pluto… I don’t know how should I describe him without words like brood, heart-breaking or melancholic.”

Reyna quietly nodded in agreement with him. She knew he was right, Nico always had that sad aura around him like a dark cloud, an invisible but heavy shadow lingered in the atmosphere, tried to stop anyone to get closer to him.

He was still a kid, a very young one. What happened to him to make that child act like he was forced to grow up too fast and without any adult figure to help him in the process? Reyna wanted to know, but a small part of her was scared of knowing the truth.

“If he could smile… you know, I guess the smile would be beautiful,” Jason continued, they’re used to one-sided conversations like this one, because Reyna only opened her mouth when she really needed to. “He has such delicate features, even though he looks sickly pale and thin.”

She gave the blond Praetor a quick glance before her eyes darted back to Nico, and she observed him carefully. Jason was right again, the kid possessed quite great physical features: long feathery black hair, deep and sharp obsidian eyes were hidden under those elegant eyelashes, well-sculptured nose and high cheekbones, bow-shaped lips with a strange color of silver-ish pink. Even though he looked really pale and his skin was ghostly white and almost semi-transparent, she could tell the original olive complexion was a nice tone of skin. His body was miserably thin, but it was lithe and swift, and she just knew even Nico looked so harmless, the kid was a deadly force on the battlefield and a good fighter because no scrawny kid could possess such toned body like him.

In a different world, if they’re not demigods and she wasn’t Praetor, Nico wasn’t the Ambassador of Pluto when he’s older and looked more healthy, and she didn’t have so much pressure and work on her shoulders, she might have a chance to fall for him. The boy had a good heart, Reyna didn’t know why did she think like that, but she just felt it.

“Maybe one day, I could make him give me a genuine smile, even just for once.” She replied Jason after a long silence, and the blond just flashed her a wide grin, the scar on his lips made him look more real than a walking statue. She found herself was smiling, too, and when her eyes met Hazel’s golden ones, the curly-haired girl smiled at her so friendly and mouthed _“Good afternoon, Reyna.”_ and she knew at least today was a beautiful and peaceful day in her life.

…

When two children of the Underworld finished their work, it was almost night. The sky possessed a dark blue color that it’s almost black, and they could see stars and constellations covered the velvety canvas like diamonds on a queen’s clothes.

“Would you stay and have dinner with me, Nico?” Hazel asked while washing her hands with purple soap that smelled like lilac flowers and rose petals. Nico gently brushed off some dust on her left shoulder, he hesitated for a while before sighed.

“I don’t want to decline your offer, but… I don’t think we should. You have to sit with your Cohort, right? I’m a stranger, I guess they won’t appreciate this.”

“You two can sit with us,” Jason grinned. “Just for tonight. I’ll say you two did some favours for us and we have some stuff to discuss. You’re the Ambassador of Pluto, Nico, and I’m the Praetor so I guess nobody dares to say no.”

Reyna gave him a questioning look, and after two seconds she knew he deliberately ignored her. Alright, she will repay him later, but actually his offer was nice so she didn’t really want to argue.

“Please, Nico?” Hazel’s eyes were sparkling with pure joy, and Nico shook his head.

“How could I say no to my sister when she’s looking at me like this? Yeah, I’ll spend time having dinner with you, Haze.” He turned his head to Jason. “And thank you for your kind suggestion, Praetor Grace.”

“Hey, just call me Jason,” The blond grinned. “Let me lead the way then.”

…

The dinner was both pleasant and awkward at the same time. Hazel obviously tried so hard to lighten the mood, but with Nico’s quiet attitude and picky appetite, Reyna’s silent and subtle observation and finally, Jason’s countless attempts to make the Ambassador of Pluto open his mouth, the female Praetor was more than glad when their meal together came to its end.

“Thank you so much for treating me and my sister that nicely,” Nico slightly lowered his head and bowed at the two Praetors. “I’m happy that Hazel is accepted here and has people to care about her.”

His obsidian eyes lingered at Reyna for more than two seconds before he blinked and looked away, but she still could read the hidden emotions behind those eyes. She let a small smile curve up her lips when Jason laughed and said something to Nico. The younger boy nodded and replied him with short sentences. He’s still distant from others, and Reyna just saw Nico make affectionate actions with only his sister so far.

She wondered if one day, anyone could make he change his attitude toward other people. She hoped that if it happens, she could be a part of the reason.

At this point, Reyna still didn’t understand where did those thoughts come from, but she chose to ignore this. It’s only the third time they met, and she guessed they still have a lot of chances to see each other and even talk about things like that.

 _‘We will meet again soon.’_ She thought to herself when his lithe figure disappeared into the shadow.

…


	5. A day with Jules-Albert.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyna had a day off and she spent it with Nico and his zombie chauffeur, Jules-Albert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This shot is a gift for **[icedpocarie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedpocarie/pseuds/icedpocarie)** and I think it might be considered as a small spin-off of her fic "[Indulgent](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12744048)" (if she allows me to note that, of course).
> 
> I hope you have fun reading that, icedpocarie! Love your fiction, and please update wavelengths asap!

##  _**Five: A day with Jules-Albert.** _

…

“This is ridiculous,” Reyna breathed out when they’re standing at the borderline of New Rome, waiting for Nico’s personal chauffeur to appear. The praetor of New Rome took a day off today and Nico invited her to join a trip with him and his zombie chauffeur. “Does he smell?”

“Not really,” the Ambassador of Pluto hesitated for a while, then he unhelpfully added. “If you don’t like how he smells, I can close the small window between the driver seat and where we sit.”

Reyna was questioning her life’s choices right now. “And where are we going?”

“I don’t really have a timetable or a plan,” Nico shrugged. “It’s your day. You can go to wherever you want.”

“I want to grab some brownies first.” Reyna sighed. It’s good to have something to eat before she actually regretted joining the trip. Right at this moment, a car approached them and a grotesque arm waving from the window.

No, she can’t say that she started to feel regret now. Swallowing down the distasteful feeling, Reyna tried to smile at the sort-of-a-face of the zombie chauffeur.

“Hi, Albert,” Nico smiled and opened the door for her. “Come in, Reyna.”

The daughter of Bellona sighed again and came inside the car. Nico followed her and closed the door. The zombie chauffeur wasn’t really smelly at all, he smelled like… Underworld stuff, a quite unpleasant one, that’s all. Not a bad sign for the beginning.

“Where do you want to go, master?” Jules-Albert asked.

“Reyna?” Nico turned his head toward her, hope glinted in his eyes. Reyna realized he just wanted her to be happy. So she smiled at him and thought for three seconds.

“Brownies first. Do you know where they sell the best brownie in this city, Albert?”

Jules-Albert just nodded slightly and started the car.

…

Nico was so insisted on paying for these brownies, so Reyna just let him. It’s nice to see him acting more like a kid like that, so she didn’t complain. And delicious brownie was a certain bonus.

“So, where are we going to go next?” She asked with curiosity. Nico’s usually secretive about his actions and his thoughts, so she wouldn’t be surprised if he chose to keep it as a secret.

“Have you ever gone to a cinema theater, Reyna?” Nico asked, a little bit teasingly, and Reyna can’t decide which action she wanted to do more, hitting his head or ruffling his hair right now. Maybe both.

“I don’t have much time.” She quietly replied. Her past made a quick slideshow inside her head, and yeah, with all the things she needed to deal with in her life, she hardly had a free time to wander around in mortals’ world and enjoy something like a movie.

“So I bet that you haven’t tasted any popcorn yet,” Nico grinned. “I’ll change that today. Albert, do you happen to know any good cinema close by?”

The zombie chauffeur just nodded and gave them a thumbs-up. Reyna thought for a brief moment, she really didn’t mind having one chauffeur like Jules-Albert. He’s quiet and helpful, and she appreciated those qualities in a… well, sort-of-man.

…

“So let me make this clear,” Nico inhaled deeply and then sighed. “You just basically told me that not only you haven’t come to a cinema even just once, but you also don’t know the differences among genres of movies?”

“You can’t blame me for this,” the daughter of Bellona glared at him. “You had a lot of world-saving stuff to do and I was involved in those things too, didn’t need to mention that I have been a Praetor for a few years. Why did you have time for movies, I wonder?”

“They’re for entertainment purposes, which I really don’t have much in my life,” the son of Hades snorted, his arms were moving frantically at this moment. “Alright, so for a beginner, I’ll explain some basic things for you. You already can guess the main idea behind each genre by names, right?”

“Sure,” Reyna shrugged. “Like, action is the genre with a lot of fighting involved? And adventure is like our quests?”

“… Not exactly, but I guess it isn’t wrong to say that,” Nico blinked and smiled at her. “And horror, hmm, you can think it’s like fighting with very ugly monsters, bonus a lot of Underworld stuff from my father’s realm. And scary ghosts, which are usually very inaccurate because ghosts normally don’t act like that at all.”

“Since you’re such a zombie and death expert, I guess I shouldn’t choose a movie with all those things in,” The Puerto Rican girl grinned, so far she’s getting a hang on it and that’s quite easy to remember. “And don’t tell me romantic is the kind I think it is? A lot of grossly cute, cheesy moments between two people that can be literally anything but when they’re in love, they turn into two oblivious idiots?”

“I like you already, your description is so great even though you haven’t watched just one of them,” Nico chuckled. “And I think we can eliminate both action and adventure. You’re an exceptional fighter and I guess we both have enough quests for the rest of our life.”

“Agree,” the black-haired girl nodded, looking around all the posters on the walls. “So… comedy, alright?”

“It’s a good choice, you definitely need some good laugh in your life. You rarely smile and I want to see you do that more often.”

“I can say that to you too,” Reyna smiled at him. “But at least I know we have a common thing with our smile. We both have that dangerous smirk that we hardly show out, but whenever it crosses our faces…”

“Someone’s dead.” Nico finished her sentence with a grin and she nodded, reached her left arm to ruffle his hair.

“That’s my little brother,” she commented and withdrew her arm to point at a poster. “That movie looks good. I’ll get the tickets.”

“Hey, wait! Today is my pleasure to pay for all the things we need, so you don’t have to!” Nico stopped Reyna before she got to the ticket booth. “And before you can lecture me, I think I should remind you that my father is the God of Wealth as well so I don’t need to worry about money.”

“Hmm, if you insist.” Reyna wasn’t really satisfied with that, but she opted to not push it further. She’ll find some ways to repay him later.

…

The movie turned out better than Reyna was expected. She found some scenes were truly hilarious, the chemistry among the characters was good, the conversations were full of sarcastic jokes but nothing disturbing or disgusting involved. Delicious cheese flavour popcorn was a certain bonus.

“I think that was a good movie,” she commented when they walked out of the cinema. “Even though I don’t have much experience in watching movies to make some comparisons.”

“You enjoyed it and that’s all I need.” The younger boy smiled at her and Reyna didn’t hesitate to extend her hand to ruffle his hair. It was really fluffy and she was one of those rare people that had the privileges to touch him without asking for permission first, so she grinned when Nico pouted but didn’t slap her hand away.

“I love you as my sister, but could you please stop treating me like your naïve little brother? I think I can endure people touching my hair for 3 minutes at max.” Nico sighed when getting into the car. “I think it’s lunchtime. What kind of food do you wanna try?”

“Anything that you recommend,” Reyna playfully winked at him. “I don’t doubt an Italian when it comes to food.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Nico grinned at her. “I know a great Mexican restaurant. Jules-Albert, do you remember the place I came to three months ago?”

“Yes.” The zombie chauffeur replied and started the car.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will have a second part. Probably---


	6. When Reyna learned to play Mythomagic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know much about Mythomagic or card games in general, so I’m sorry in advance if I made any mistake in this chapter.

##  _**Six: When Reyna learned to play Mythomagic.** _

 

…

“Frank, I need to ask you for some favors.”

Frank didn’t think the beginning of his Sunday morning could be like this. He planned to spend some hours training first, then he might eat lunch with Hazel before he had to check the storage of weapons because it’s his turn this month.

Seemed like the training part could be ignored from this moment. “What do need me to do for you, Reyna?”

“I need you to teach me how to play Mythomagic,” the female praetor looked strangely shy when she said it. “I tried to self-learn before, but it didn’t work.”

“Sure, but why are you suddenly interested in this nerdy game anyway?” Frank asked, but he already opened the top drawer to take out his deck of cards. “I haven’t noticed you keep an eye on this before.”

“I… how should I explain this?” Reyna sighed, struggling with her words. It’s quite unusual to see the normally confident girl acted like this, but Frank decided to not comment even just one word. “I’m not suddenly interested in this. I don’t think I’ll ever actually find it interesting – no offense, Frank, but I’m just not into those stuff.”

“None taken,” Frank shrugged and started to place each card on the table. “You haven’t answered my question, but I guess I might know the reason.”

“Take your guess, please,” Reyna crossed her arms in front of her chests and looked mildly amused at the number of cards. “You have so many cards.”

“Because Nico likes this game, right?” the other praetor grinned. “And you want to learn so you can play with him when you have some free time?”

“Hmm, I have to admit that my intention in this case is quite apparent,” the Puerto Rican girl laughed when she finally sat down. “Thank you for spending your time to help me, Frank.”

“My pleasure,” Frank nodded at her. “Hazel asked me the same thing just some weeks ago. Jason did, too. I just start to wonder when will it come to your turn.”

“Can’t believe Jason figured it out before me,” Reyna breathed out with a little irritation, but her eyes, on the contrary, were shining with amusement. “And how good is he at this?”

“I gave him the disapproving wolf face during two hours that I taught him the basic laws,” Frank laughed. “I think you understand what I mean.”

“Got it,” Reyna smirked when an image popped up in her mind. Maybe everybody could think about Frank as a big teddy bear and he can’t hurt a fly, but Reyna knew that boy had his own cheeky side. He could make a super effective disdainful look, and it’s even scarier when he did it with different animal faces. You will never know you’re such a scumbag in this world before Frank gives you the disapproving animal face – that expression could make you feel you’re not worth anything in your entire life. “So where do we start?”

“It depends on how much you already knew,” the Canadian boy shrugged. “So, would you mind being the first one to speak?”

…

Frank didn’t give Reyna any disapproving look by an animal face during two hours he taught her Mythomagic, and she secretly counted that as a small victory, but she also doubted it was because he was scared of her more than she’s actually a good student. She might be decent, at least. So far Reyna managed to get a hang on this game and even though it’s getting harder and more confusing every time Frank explained new rules or some other tricky stuff, she still understood.

Part of the reason might be there were a lot of fact-based details for monsters and gods in this game, but there’re also so many inaccuracies. When Reyna started to wonder if the creators of this game were demigods or not, Frank smiled at her and told it’s not important since they made a great game, and she nodded, didn’t care to ask further.

“I think this game is quite strategic,” Reyna massaged her temples when she put down a card in a trial game with Frank. “I could be strategic. But it’s also quite head-aching, though.”

“You have a great logical mind,” Frank reassured her, then he frowned while looking down at his cards. “Good move. I’m having a little trouble here, give me a minute.”

“Okay,” she shrugged, feeling a little bit satisfied with herself. “Even though I’m not entirely sure what did I do.”

“You made a risky move when you put down that card because it helps to raise your heroes’ attack points, but it decreases their HP as well,” Frank explained, still shuffling his cards. “So basically your heroes now are easier to kill, but if the advantage in ATK points could help you to kill mine first, you will win.”

“Oh, so it’s like gambling,” Reyna mouthed understandingly at that, and a nod from Frank let her know she’s right. “Guess that the result will depend on my luck this time.”

“You really get better luck than me in this trial,” Frank sighed in defeat when he finally put down a card. “This card won’t do much to reduce the damage, but at least it guarantees that two of my heroes will live with at least 1 HP after the critical blow. But who will them be… let’s see.”

Frank wasn’t lucky enough to get a decent hero alive. One of his two survivors was playing a supporting and debuffing role, but since the main attacker died, she became pretty useless. The other was acting like a human shield, his DEF points were high, but he can’t be a good attacker since all his active skills were nothing compared to Reyna’s heroes’. The male praetor sighed in defeat while placing down all his other cards on the table. “You win this game, Reyna. Congratulations!”

“This game is funnier than I thought it could be,” Reyna admitted with a satisfying smile. “Thank you for spending your time helping me, I appreciate that.”

“Don’t mention it, we’re not just comrades, we’re friends too,” Frank nodded at her with a smile. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to continue our practicing session in another time. I need to see Hazel before lunch.”

“Sure, you two have fun.” Reyna helped the Asian boy put his cards back to a stack before placing it in his drawer. She could ask him to help her understand some more rules before Nico’s monthly visit to camp Jupiter next week. He’ll be surprised to find out that she learned that to play with him, and they’ll sure have much fun afterward.

…


	7. Affection (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyna is never a touchy-feely person, and Nico hates it whenever someone that isn’t close to him touches him without asking for his permission first. But according to almost everyone else, those two share way too much affectionate actions with each other.

##  _**Seven: Affection (1)** _

**_Reyna is never a touchy-feely person, and Nico hates it whenever someone that isn’t close to him touches him without asking for his permission first. But according to almost everyone else, those two share way too much affectionate actions with each other._ **

…

Jason was the first one to notice it. And by “it”, we’re talking about Reyna and Nico’s affectionate interactions whenever those two met. Honestly, the female praetor of New Rome and the ambassador of Pluto did that way too much, or in other words, _all the time_.

It was strange for Jason at first. It’s not a good strange or a bad strange, just… strange. What the blond meant was both of them weren’t fond of physical contacts, like, at all. Since his memories slowly came back piece by piece, he remembered some small things about Reyna too. In his memories, she’s still a strong demigod, a dependable friend, a more-than-capable fighter and leader as she is now; and if anything else about her that hadn’t changed either, it’s her… distaste for physical contacts, for the lack of better words. She was careful about who and what she touched or can touch her, and anyone would be at the receiving end of her icy glare if they lingered the contact with her more than necessary. Jason was not an exception even though she did have a crush on him back then, which is odd, because she liked him, so why he didn’t get some privileges?

It’s not that Jason envied with Nico when that boy seemed to be an exception to her _do-not-touch-me-or-I’ll-break-your-face_ rules. The _only_ exception Reyna’s ever made, apparently. Jason understood that something must happen when they’re on that deadly quest to bring the Athena Parthenos across the world together, but he never knew all the details. It’s not that important, though. They got significantly closer after that and honestly, the son of Jupiter was glad that Nico found someone else that he can trust, besides his sister and (hopefully) Jason himself.

It wasn’t a coincidence when all these three people were on the list _I’m-okay-with-your-touches_ by Nico, but for Jason, he still had to learn when he can push his luck and when he can’t. Hazel was the one he thought Nico’s most comfortable with touching – when he’s still distant and secretive with others, he still kissed her on the cheeks multiple times and hugged her. But since she’s his sister, that’s hardly counted as a privilege, but more than just a simple fact.

Reyna was an… interesting case, though. Nico disliked touching in general, and when Jason found out his preferences (it was purely incident, and Cupid’s a certificated jerk), he thought Nico might not be very comfortable with touching girls, but well, the son of Hades didn’t make many interactions with the opposite sex or anyone else in general for him to confirm that thought.

But still… when Jason started to notice it, it’s hard to stop doing that. The very first time their interaction caught his attention was the time Nico shadow-traveled both of them to camp Jupiter for a surprise visit, and when Reyna saw them, she just nodded at Jason in a friendly way, but she opened her arms expectantly, and Nico didn’t hesitate for any moment to step forward and hug the daughter of Bellona. They shared a tight embrace, and Reyna’s delightful voice “Nice to see you, Nico!” sounded unfamiliar with her normal cold and stoic manners, but in a good way. Jason was happy for both of them, he liked this version of Reyna more, and the fact Nico’s happier when he’s with her was great too.

That’s when the son of Jupiter noticed their hug lasted longer than normal for both of them, and when they released the other, Reyna leaned in to give Nico a soft kiss on his cheek, then he returned the favour with a smile on his face, and Jason was watching them in awe. Since when those two did that many affectionate actions anyway? The last time he checked, they both had the same stay-away-from-me manners that could easily scare anyone off.

“What are you waiting for, Jason?” Reyna asked him, one of her eyebrows was rising slightly. Nico looked at him quizzically.

“Are you still feeling dizzy because of the jump?” He asked, his voice laced with concern. “Do you need to sit down and rest for a while?”

“No, I’m good,” Jason shook his head, deciding to ask Nico about his new discovery later. “Let’s get going.”

…

During the short trip to Reyna’s villa at New Rome, Jason can’t stop noticing how the Praetor’s arm casually wrapped around Nico’s shoulders, taking his arm to lead the way or ruffling his hair. Nico didn’t react much, he just mumbled something inaudible for Jason, and Reyna laughed at that, lightly hitting his forearm. Jason was sure anyone else did that could easily get their arm detached from their body – except Hazel, and (again, hopefully) Jason himself.

“So, how long do you plan to stay here?” Reyna questioned while unlocking the front door.

“Three days. We talked to Chiron and he agreed. It’s not like we have many works at Camp Half-Blood this week anyway.” Nico grinned at her, and Reyna opened the door widely for them to come in.

“Make yourselves at home,” she gestured in the air, maybe a new habit that she got from Nico, Jason noticed. “I think you already knew every part of my house, Jason, can you take some water for us?”

“Alright,” Jason nodded, didn’t bother by her sort of commanding tone at all. “Wait a minute.”

He walked into her kitchen to take some glasses of water, and when he came out with a tray in his hands, Nico and Reyna were sitting on the couch, chatting amicably. He sat at the opposite side with them, placing two cups in front of them. “Here you are.”

“Thanks,” Reyna gave him a small smile. “So what’s going on at Camp Half-Blood?”

“You know, the usual,” Nico shrugged nonchalantly, taking a glass of water. “It’s summer so Camp’s a little bit cramped. Even though now I’m better with people than I was in the past, I still need some air and some alone moments, with only people I truly care about and don’t mind having them around all the time.”

His eyes glanced at Jason for a moment before focusing on Reyna, and the blond was glad that Nico counted him on his _people-I-don’t-mind-having-around_ list.

Reyna _beamed_ at that and extended her arm to ruffle Nico’s hair again. “You’re always welcome here. Besides, there’re some problems in New Rome’s politics that are in serious need of a mediator, and we all miss our Ambassador of Pluto so much.”

Nico groaned at this. “Reyna, I don’t come here to work.”

“I know, and I’m truly sorry for dragging you into that mess, but we need your help,” her eyes cast a glance at Jason. “And you too, Pontifex Maximus Grace, you’re also a former Praetor, your words are well-respected among us.”

Jason blinked, clearly didn’t expect that he’s being dragged into that at all. “Well–”

Reyna effectively cut him off with only a _do-as-I-said-or-go-to-die_ glare, which she gave pretty almost everyone that dared disobey her commands.

“I don’t like it,” Nico muttered, looking slightly distressed. “I really dislike politics.”

Reyna’s intense gaze softened when she looked at the son of Hades. “I don’t force you, Nico. But I really want you to help us. For me, please?”

Well, Nico wasn’t in the list of receivers of Reyna’s deadly glare either. How many lists Reyna had with Nico as an exception already? Jason had a suspicion that most of them were like that if it’s not all.

“… Fine, I’ll do it. For you, but just this once.” Nico groaned, pouting slightly when Reyna beamed at this. She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

“Thank you, brother.”

Nico mumbled something inaudible, but his cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. If Jason didn’t know any better, he could think Nico had some crush on the daughter of Bellona, judging by his reaction to her action.

Well, if he didn’t know any better, he would guess that they’re a couple already, with all those affectionate interactions between the two of them. It’s interesting, really, how they both disliked physical contacts but having no problems with touching each other.

Before Jason could realize, he’s already too deep in a small self-assigned task called: _What exactly is the highest level of comfortable Nico and Reyna are together?_

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I repeat an irrelevant question again: How could some of you guys leave more than one kudos, exactly?
> 
> And btw, if you like this series and you adore Nico and Reyna's friendship, I recommend you to check out _**["Indulgent"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12744048)**_ by [icedpocarie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedpocarie/pseuds/icedpocarie), _**["Wavelengths"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12806040/chapters/29231346)**_ also by her; and _**["In Other Worlds"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624013/chapters/33797004)**_ by me ~~*shameless advertising*~~.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you could leave kudos or comments, I highly appreciate it!


End file.
